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SCOOP: NTIA TO TAKE UP DRONE PRIVACY GUIDELINES — President Barack Obama plans to issue an executive order tasking the Commerce Department's NTIA with developing privacy guidelines for the commercial use of drones, and your MT'er and Pro's Kevin Robillard have the story. Under the order, "NTIA would bring together companies and consumer groups to hammer out a series of voluntary best practices for unmanned aerial vehicles. The Federal Aviation Administration, which is working on a formal set of rules to allow commercial drones to operate in U.S. skies, has been criticized for not tackling issues around what kind of images and data drones can collect. Consumer groups and some lawmakers have said drones could violate people’s privacy by peering into their homes and backyards. It’s not clear when the president will issue the order. White House officials declined to comment, but confirmed government-wide efforts to coordinate policy on the issue."

It's not clear, though, whether the order will satisfy privacy advocates. NTIA doesn't have the authority to develop guidelines related to the law enforcement or government use of drones — meaning concerns over whether the drones threaten Fourth Amendment protections will linger. CDT senior counsel Harley Geiger, for one, called for the administration to pursue "a holistic privacy review of drones" if it issues an E.O. "If the Administration is going to review privacy and the use of drones, that review … should extend to law enforcement use of drones as well," he said. "The lack of strong privacy standards for government use of drones is holding back public acceptance of the drone industry and has led to a patchwork of state laws." Read more on the order, here: http://politi.co/1qBkGOM

THE BIG PICTURE: AN INCREASINGLY PARTISAN FCC UNDER WHEELER — The deep political divides that are all too familiar on Capitol Hill are spreading to the FCC as it takes on controversial rules about net neutrality and spectrum auctions, Brooks and Alex write in today's paper. "Veterans of the FCC say the new dynamic is the product of Democratic Chairman Tom Wheeler’s hard-charging style as well as the increasingly ideological stance of the commission’s two Republicans. The result: An expert agency set up by Congress 80 years ago to make technical decisions isolated from the political hurly-burly is beginning to resemble its creator — and is increasingly mired in disputes over how to proceed on fundamental telecom and broadband policies."

The FCC has fielded 11 party-line votes since Wheeler took office — more than took place over the previous eight years. Brooks and Alex have more on those votes and what's driving the shift, here: politico.pro/1rD6IeR

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING and welcome to Morning Tech, where we are giving a shout out to the pop-up Bullfrog Bagels serving out of Cakelove on U St from now through the 29th — which comes highly recommended from one of our readers, too. In our mind, there's no such thing as a bad time for breakfast, so let us know where we should try next, and send tips and comments over to emershon@politico.com and @eemershon. And catch the rest of the team's info after speed read.

TODAY: OVERSIGHT TAKES AIM AT FTC'S PRACTICES, AUTHORITY OVER DATA SEC — The House Oversight and Government Affairs committee is convening a hearing this morning to look into exactly where the Federal Trade Commission is getting its information in several cases related to data security practices — a subject the committee has been investigating since June. The concern is that the FTC has relied on false or coerced information in bringing some of its cases — including one against the now-shuttered medical testing company LabMD. (For a longer look at the case pending between the FTC and LabMD, the Legal Times has you covered: http://bit.ly/WEQeWN.) And even before it began, the hearing ruffled the feathers of Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller, who says the OGR hearing and investigation are just "bullying tactics" aimed at undermining the FTC's efforts to police data breaches. (That letter is here: http://politico.pro/WESbSZ.) An Issa spox said in a statement Rockefeller is "completely distorting the committee's work."

Another wrinkle in the fight: the law group leading LabMD's defense, Cause of Action, is headed by Daniel Z. Epstein — who's a former Republican counsel for the committee on Oversight and Government Reform. That's a revolving-door tidbit that several folks supportive of the FTC's efforts to regulate data security pointed out to your MT'er as tensions flared this week. And while both LabMD and Issa say Epstein isn't representing LabMD in the case, he's listed as LabMD's counsel on a number of legal documents we reviewed. The hearing will be livestreamed, and you should keep an eye out for LabMD CEO Michael Daugherty — who won't mince words about his interactions with the agency in his testimony. "You’re guilty because the FTC says so…and dead before they’re done,” Daugherty will say. Watch here: http://1.usa.gov/WESkpF

TODAY: HOUSE PANEL EYES 3 TECH BILLS — Even as time for legislating in 2014 runs thin, the House telecom subcommittee is taking a small step forward on three pieces of legislation this morning. Here’s a quick primer on the bills being considered at the legislative hearing: The Anti-Spoofing Act, a bill from Reps. Barton, Meng and Lance, would expand on 2011 FCC rules against faking caller ID information. It would expand the rules to text messages. The LPTV and Translator Act, from Rep. Barton, looks at how the FCC treats low-power broadcast stations with regard to the coming incentive auctions. And The E-Label Act, from Reps. Latta and Welch, would allow electronic devices to digitally display certain FCC labels rather than actually printing them on a physical device — which could come in handy as devices have gotten smaller and smaller. A companion bill was introduced in the Senate. More at 10:15 here: http://1.usa.gov/1odyoEx

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AND: HJC EXAMINES COPYRIGHT DAMAGES — A House Judiciary subcommittee is set for an afternoon hearing today on copyright remedies — which covers everything from the damages awarded for copyright infringement (like the $150,000 you could owe if a copyrighted song is playing behind a home video you upload) to the seizure of property or even a domain name if it facilitates infringement. Expect Public Knowledge's Sherwin Siy and CCIA's Matt Schruers to highlight the problems that can arise from damages set too high. : Too-high damage awards, Schruers will say, per prepared remarks, "empower

copyright trolls and create extraordinary liability risks that discourage tech innovation, particularly by start-ups." So-called copyright trolls, like their patent counterparts, use the threat of expensive damages to win quick settlements with potential infringers, both he and Siy will argue. Also testifying today is the DOJ attorney David Bitkower. Catch the livestream, here: http://1.usa.gov/1hCNpi3

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: HJC TO REVISIT PATENTS — A House Judiciary subcommittee will take a look at the Patent and Trademark Office, the America Invents Act and international policy on Wed. July 30 at 3 p.m.

— ALSO NEXT WEEK: SCC TAKES ON CRAMMING: Rockefeller's committee will look at wireless cramming — the practice of putting charges on consumer phone bills. It's a hot topic, since the FTC recently slammed T-Mobile with a lawsuit over its alleged cramming practices. It's also one the senator's long been interested in: The hearing, also scheduled for next Wednesday, will discuss the results of the committee's two-year-long investigation into the practice.

PAI: FCC OVERSTEPPED ON GRAIN WAIVER — FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai thinks the commission overstepped its bounds when it granted a waiver to the minority-owned Grain Management on a 3-2 vote earlier this week. “This decision cannot be justified under the Commission’s waiver law, since waiving the AMR rule here eviscerates — rather than promotes — the purpose of the rule,” he said in his dissenting statement. Grain's waiver will allow the company to operate under rules for small, minority-owned businesses, even though it controls airwaves that exceed that program's limits. Managing Partner David Grain was one of Obama’s top fundraisers for the 2008 election, bringing in $200,000 to $500,000, according to the campaign. Pai's full dissent is here: http://go.usa.gov/5PSY

— AND: PAI SET TO TALK RECLASS: The commissioner will be on hand this morning for an Internet Innovation Alliance keynote on Title II regulation — the controversial proposal for ensuring net neutrality under telephone-style regulation. That kicks off at 10 a.m. Watch here: http://bit.ly/1qBluDq

MOBILE DOMINATES AT&T, FACEBOOK EARNINGS REPORTS — Both AT&T and Facebook reported quarterly earnings late yesterday and the two had one thing in common: mobile. AT&T led its call talking about how it was repositioning its wireless business. As for Facebook, mobile advertising is now 62 percent of Facebook’s ad revenue, up 67 percent compared to a year ago. Facebook got only one question about privacy, when it was asked if its anonymous login product for apps was a change in the company’s thinking about privacy. Mark Zuckerberg said that privacy is “something that is misunderstood about Facebook…. Before there was no space you could share just with your friends. We want to open up new, private spaces…. We view our job to provide people with these spaces and tools."

APP DEVELOPERS, INTUIT LAUNCH PRIVACY TOOL — The App Developers Alliance and their member Intuit are releasing open source code today that will let app developers include "short-form privacy notices" on their first screen. Developing those notices — which aim to provide users with simple, easy information about what data is being collected — was the main focus of a NTIA multistakeholder process that concluded last year. The tool being released today will allow compliance with the code produced by that process.

SPEED READ

ROCKEFELLER'S PUSH TO UPEND THE TV INDUSTRY. The National Journal takes a long look at the outgoing Senate Commerce Chairman's efforts to change the video marketplace: http://bit.ly/1qBmasA

GOOGLE BRACED FOR A SHOWDOWN OVER 'RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN.' European watchdogs say the company's response to the European court ruling has been inadequate, the FT reports: http://on.ft.com/1qBn8VG

AND, THE BEST OF THE NEW YORKER'S TECH. The New Yorker is opening up its archives, just for the summer, as part of a test program — and tech nerds should take advantage. The Washington Post rounded up a few of the best articles to add to your summer reading list, here: http://wapo.st/1pdz9N7